TweetUp RoundUp: Why Sitting Sucks by @TaniaFrechette

Recent stats show that Canadian adults are now spending about three-quarters of their time sedentary and even for those who exercise regularly can experience the negative effects of too much in on a chair. The recommended 30 minutes of daily activity is not enough.

Sedentary lifestyles are linked to many ailments ranging from diabetes to heart disease and osteoporosis.

How sitting wrecks your body:

• Electrical activity in the leg muscles shuts off.
• Calorie burning drops 1 per minute
• Enzymes that help break down fat drop 90%
• After 2 hours good cholesterol drops 20%
• People with sitting jobs have twice the rate of cardiovascular disease as people with standing jobs.
• It tightens your hip flexors which can constrict the organs of the digestive and respiratory systems, cause lower back injuries and much more.

So what can we do? Interrupt sitting whenever you can

• Move! Stretch, walk, jog jumping jacks.
• Walk to the furthest bathroom
• Park far or get off the bus a few stops earlier.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Have a walking meeting instead of sitting.
• Stand at your desk
• Get off the couch

Try the following yoga postures at the office:

Wall stretch for shoulders and hip flexors

Seated pigeon

Standing pigeon

Hamstring and shoulder stretch

Wrist stretch

Learn more! Watch this!

Resources:
Sitting is the new smoking, http://activeforlife.ca/sitting-is-the-new-smoking/

*Tania knew she wanted to become a yoga teacher after her first class in January 2000 and have been teaching since 2003. Recently she co-founded Ottawa Wellness Hub to bring healthy lifestyle practices to the workplace. One of her goals as a teacher is to make yoga available to everyone. You can c heck out her yoga apps available on iTunes or her resource section for free downloadable yoga sequences.